Chapter three
Job analysis and human resource planning
Job analysis terminology
1. Tasks: Tasks
are the smallest units of work analysis, representing identifiable work
activities composed of motions. They are the specific actions or activities
that individuals perform to accomplish their duties. An example could be the
task of "receiving a telephone call."
2. Duty: Duty
is a larger work segment comprising several tasks. It represents a distinct
obligation or responsibility that an individual is required to fulfill as part
of their role within an organization.
3. Position: A
position refers to the set of responsibilities and duties assigned to an
individual within an organization. It represents a specific role that
contributes to the overall functioning of the organization.
4. Job: A job is a group of
positions that share similarities in their duties and responsibilities. It
involves the work performed by one or more individuals to achieve the
organization's goals. The number of jobs in an organization corresponds to the
number of employees.
Products of Job Analysis
A.
Job description is
a documented statement that tells the title, duties, responsibilities,
authority, accountabilities, working conditions, working condition, and other
aspects of a specific job, elucidating the tasks performed by the worker.
Uses of
job description
·
It describes the
job to the recruiters
·
It guides newly
hired employees about what they are expected to perform.
·
It is used for
appraising whether the actual activities of the employees match with their stated
duties
B.
Job specification is
a written statement that describes the skill, knowledge, work experiences
required to perform the job (who the worker is)
uses of
Job specification
·
It sets minimum
qualifications needed in potential candidates
·
It guides selectors
to select candidates with right qualifications
·
Let’s applicants
know what skills, level of experience, education, and abilities are required
for the role.
C.
Job Performance Standard: is
a statement that indicates quality and quantity of job performance.
Uses of Job Performance Standard:
·
Performance
Evaluation: Standards are criteria against which job success is measured.
·
Improve the
performance of employees: The more employees understand what is expected of
them, the more likely it is that they will be able to carry out
responsibilities successfully.
·
Motivation: standards
become objectives or targets for employee efforts. Once standards are met,
workers may feel a sense of accomplishment
D.
Job Evaluation is
the process of determining the relative values of each job in the organization
and ranking them in a hierarchy.
Uses of job evaluation
·
Provide
information for developing a compensation package
·
It serves as a
bases for fixing a fair and equitable salary and wage structure
·
It helps to
avoid wage and other discrimination
Uses of Job Analysis Information
1. Recruitment and Selection:
·
Job analysis provides crucial information about job
responsibilities and human requirements, forming the basis for job descriptions
and specifications.
·
Helps in making informed decisions on the type of
individuals to recruit and hire for specific roles.
2. Compensation:
·
A clear understanding of job requirements from job
analysis is essential for estimating the value and appropriate compensation for
each job.
·
Compensation, including salary and bonuses, is often
linked to factors identified through job analysis, such as required skills,
education level, and safety hazards.
3. Performance Appraisal:
·
Job analysis contributes to performance appraisal by
establishing standards and specific activities for employees.
·
Industrial engineers and experts use job analysis
data to set performance expectations and evaluate actual employee performance.
4. Training:
·
Job analysis information is utilized in designing
effective training and development programs.
·
The analysis and resulting job description highlight
the skills required for each job, guiding the development of relevant training
programs.
5. Ensuring Complete Assignment of Duties:
·
Job analysis helps ensure that all necessary duties
are assigned to specific positions within the organization.
·
It identifies missing duties or responsibilities,
preventing gaps in job roles and responsibilities.
6. Compliance to Legal Requirements:
·
It assists organizations in complying with
government regulations by providing information on job contents and
requirements.
·
It defends HRM decisions against legal challenges,
ensuring compliance with rules and regulations related to discrimination and
other HR practices.
Steps in job analysis information
1. Determine
the Use of Job Analysis Information:
2. Collect
Background Information:
3. Select
Representative Positions to be Analyzed:
4. Collect
Job Analysis Information:
5. Review
Information with Participants:
6. Develop a
Job Description and Job Specification:
Methods of Collecting Job Analysis Information:
1. Observation Method:
·
Directly observing
employees or reviewing footage of workers performing their duties.
·
Provides firsthand
information but may introduce distortions.
2. Individual Interview Method:
·
Meeting with an employee
to determine job responsibilities.
·
Forming a team of job
incumbents for detailed individual interviews.
3. Group Interview Method:
·
Simultaneously meeting
with several employees to collaboratively determine job responsibilities.
·
Resembles the individual
interview method but involves group dynamics.
4. Structured Questionnaire Method:
·
Using of a specially
designed questionnaire for employees to evaluate their task performance.
·
Effective for information
gathering but may overlook exceptions to a job.
5. Technical Conference Method:
·
Incorporate substantial
insights from the employee's supervisor.
·
Utilize supervisors with
extensive job knowledge (subject matter experts).
6. Diary Method:
·
Require job incumbents
to record their daily activities.
·
Time-intensive but
furnishes detailed insights into daily tasks.
These methods are not
mutually exclusive, and a combination is often used for results that are more
accurate. The choice of method depends on the specific job and organizational
context.
Job Design
Job design refers to
organize work content (task, duties, responsibility) and qualification required
(skills, knowledge, experience) in each job in the way that meet the needs of
the organization and employees.
The purpose of job design and redesign
is to improve:
·
Employees
satisfaction and performance
·
Organizational
performance an effective job design involves three key characteristics: range,
depth, and relationships.
An effective job design involves three
key characteristics: range, depth, and relationships.
1.
Range
and Depth:
·
Job
Range: It refers to the number of tasks performed in a job.
More tasks result in a wider job range, potentially requiring more time.
·
Job
Depth: Relates to the level of discretion in
decision-making within the job. It involves personal influence and delegated
authority, varying among employees with the same title and organizational
level.
2.
Job
Relationships:
·
Departmentalization
bases and spans of control determine job relationships.
·
Wider spans of
control may lead to larger groups, making it challenging to establish strong
interpersonal relationships.
3.
Perceived
Job Content:
v Job Characteristics Model: refers
to how individuals perceive and describe their jobs, influenced by the social
setting.
v Recommends designing jobs with five core dimensions
for increased motivation, performance, and satisfaction.
- Skill variety: The range of different activities
required in the job.
- Task identity: The degree to which the job involves
completing an identifiable task or output.
- Task significance: The impact of the job on other
jobs within or outside the organization.
- Autonomy: The freedom and discretion the job
provides in setting work schedules and determining the means of task completion.
- Feedback: The availability of data on job
fulfillment, enabling individuals to assess their performance.
Approaches of Job Designing
i.
Job enrichment is
a technique in which employees are given autonomy to set their own work peace,
design their own work method, participate in making decisions and evaluate their
accomplishment.
ii.
Job Enlargement is
a technique used to expand the number of related tasks in a job
iii.
Job Rotation Refers
to the movements of employees from one job to other job
Meaning and Definition
of Human Resource Planning:
Human Resource
Planning (HRP) involves the
systematic anticipation and management of an organization's future work force
requirements. The goal is to ensure that the organization has the right people,
in the right quantity, with appropriate skills, at the right time and place.
This includes planning for the development of work force to meet evolving
organizational needs. HRP encompasses projections for future work force needs,
replacement plans, managerial succession plans, and the evaluation of future
performance.
Importance of Human
Resource Planning:
1.
National
Importance:
·
Helps the government
forecast and manages the demand and supply of human resources at the national
level.
·
Assists in adjusting
economic, industrial, and agricultural policies based on human resource needs.
·
Support planning for
occupational distribution, sectorial allocation, and regional distribution of
human resources.
2.
Organizational
Importance:
·
Align with corporate
plans, ensuring that human resources are available to support expansion,
diversification, and technological changes.
·
Mitigate uncertainty and
change by forecasting and planning for human resource needs.
·
Facilitates budget
formulation by anticipating costs related to salaries, benefits, and other
human resource functions.
·
Address redundancy and
alternative employment, promoting good industrial relations.
·
Prevent disruptions in
production by anticipating and fulfilling future human resource needs.
·
Promote equal employment
opportunities and compliance with labor laws.
3.
Employee
Importance:
·
Enhance employee
satisfaction and development through training, development, and succession
planning.
·
Satisfies individual
needs for promotions, transfers, salary enhancements, and better benefits.
Characteristics of
Human Resource Planning
·
Done proactively
- HRP is something done proactively(in advance) than reactively(dealing with
problem while facing the problem)
·
Guide and
coordinate all human resource management activities
·
Responsive for
changes in the internal and external environment
·
Linked with high
level of organizational plan instead of being performed in isolation
Steps in Human Resource
Planning:
i.
Determining
organizational goal and strategic planning
ii.
Assessing
current human resource situation
iii.
Human resource
forecasting
iv.
Developing an
action plan
v.
Implement the
action plan, Monitoring and
vi.
evaluation
Human resource forecasting includes
anticipating future human resource demand (requirement) and supply
(availability). It has three components:
A.
Forecasting human resource demand :
require to determine the type and number of personnel required in the future
B.
Forecasting human resource supply:
require anticipation of supply of people who will be available in the future.
C.
Comparing future demand and internal
supply:
Three possible results (figure) may be obtained out
of the comparison process by subtracting the current man power (supply) from
the projected demand.
i. Surplus= HR demand < HR supply
ii. Shortage= HR demand > HR supply
iii. Balanced= HR demand = HR supply
Managers must develop an action plan to close the gap between
demand and supply.
A. If
surplus is projected, plan must be made to:
·
Encourage early retirement
·
Layoff or dismiss employees. Is it
possible?
·
Reduce working hour/part time. Is it
good?
·
Restrict hiring
B. If
shortage is projected, plan must be done to:
·
Allow overtime work/part time
·
To extend retirement
·
Introduce labor saving technology
·
Job enrichment/enlargement
·
Recruit and select employees
Human Resource Demand Forecasting Techniques
1. Judgment and
experience: Top
level executives and experts come together and estimate future HR requirements
2. Zero based
forecasting Using
current level of employees as a starting point to determine future HR requirements
3. Bottom up approach Unit managers(managers from different
levels of mgt) are asked to estimate their HR requirements and send a proposal
to top level management
4. Work standard methods determining the relationship between the
task and number of employees required to perform the task.
This
technique is used only when:
·
The volume of work can be quantified
·
Total productions and activities are
clearly estimated
·
Time required to produce a unit is known
5.
Key predictive factors Identifying one major
variable with which total human resource is highly correlated
e.g. Addis Ababa University may use number of
students as key predictive factor to determine academic staff requirement
Factors Affecting Human Resource Planning:
External Factors:
1.
Government: includes
trade policies, taxation, wage laws, pension provisions, and health and safety
laws.
2.
Economic Conditions: includes
business cycle, interest rates, inflation, economic growth.
3.
Social Conditions: includes
culture, demography, societal values.
4.
Technological Challenges: includes
changes in product, production techniques, skills required.
5.
Competition for Labor: includes
local and international competition for skilled professionals.
Internal Factors
1.
Organization's Strategies and Objectives:
·
Long-range objectives, growth rates, new product development,
market coverage, and diversification affect HRP.
·
Short-term adjustments may be needed based on strategic plans
becoming operational in budgets.
·
Expansion, acquisitions, or mergers necessitate a revision of
human resource demand.
2. Organizational
Size and Structure:
·
The size of the organization determines manpower needs.
·
Reorganization after mergers, acquisitions, or changes in job
design affects human resource requirements.
·
Structure, hierarchy, centralization, and decentralization levels
influence HRP.
4.
Organization Culture and Management
Philosophy:
·
Organizational culture, a system of beliefs and values, influences
HRP.
·
Management philosophy and leadership styles impact manpower
planning.
·
Cultural factors like promotion based on seniority affect HRP.
5.
Workforce Factors:
·
Employee actions like retirements, terminations, leaves of
absence, and other workforce dynamics modify human resource demand.
·
Rates of maternity leave, sick leave, and issues like HIV/AIDS
affect workforce availability.
6.
Labor Union:
·
Collective agreements with labor unions influence recruitment,
compensation, working conditions, promotions, and transfers.
7.
Organization's Financial Ability:
·
Financial strength influences the organization's ability to pay
compensation and attract additional workers.
8.
Organization of HRP Activities:
·
Responsibilities for HRP may be assigned to line departments or
follow a top-down or bottom-up approach.
·
Possible conflicts may arise between top management and line
managers, requiring negotiation and compromise.
7. Nature
of Jobs & Tasks:
·
The complexity of tasks and job aspects affects HRP.
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